What is a Virus

A computer virus, much like a flu virus, is designed to spread from host to host and has the ability to replicate itself. Similarly, in the same way that viruses cannot reproduce without a host cell, computer viruses cannot reproduce and spread without programming such as a file or document.

In more technical terms, a computer virus is a type of malicious code or program written to alter the way a computer operates and that is designed to spread from one computer to another. A virus operates by inserting or attaching itself to a legitimate program or document that supports macros in order to execute its code. In the process a virus has the potential to cause unexpected or damaging effects, such as harming the system software by corrupting or destroying data.

How does a computer virus attack?

Once a virus has successfully attached to a program, file, or document, the virus will lie dormant until circumstances cause the computer or device to execute its code. In order for a virus to infect your computer, you have to run the infected program, which in turn causes the virus code to be executed. This means that a virus can remain dormant on your computer, without showing major sings or symptoms. However, once the virus infects your computer, the virus can infect other computers on the same network. Stealing passwords or data, logging keystrokes, corrupting files, spamming your email contacts, and even taking over your machine are just some of the devastating and irritating things a virus can do.

While some viruses can be playful in intent and effect, others can have profound and damaging effects, such as erasing data or causing permanent damage to your hard disk, and worst yet, some are even design with financial gains in mind.

How do computer viruses spread?

Viruses can enter to your computer as an attachment of images, greeting, or audio / video files. Viruses also enters through downloads on the Internet. They can be hidden in a free/trial softwares or other files that you download.

So before you download anything from internet be sure about it first. Almost all viruses are attached to an executable file, which means the virus may exist on your computer but it actually cannot infect your computer unless you run or open the malicious program. It is important to note that a virus cannot be spread without a human action, such as running an infected program to keep it going.

File Virus:-This type of virus normally infects program files such as .exe, .com, .bat. Once this virus stays in memory it tries to infect all programs that load on to memory.

Macro Virus: - These type of virus infects word, excel, PowerPoint, access and other data files. Once infected repairing of these files is very much difficult.

Master boot record files: - MBR viruses are memory-resident viruses and copy itself to the first sector of a storage device which is used for partition tables or OS loading programs .A MBR virus will infect this particular area of Storage device instead of normal files. The easiest way to remove a MBR virus is to clean the MBR area,

Boot sector virus: - Boot sector virus infects the boot sector of a HDD or FDD. These are also memory resident in nature. As soon as the computer starts it gets infected from the boot sector. Cleaning this type of virus is very difficult.

Multipartite virus: - A hybrid of Boot and Program/file viruses. They infect program files and when the infected program is executed, these viruses infect the boot record. When you boot the computer next time the virus from the boot record loads in memory and then start infecting other program files on disk

Polymorphic viruses: - A virus that can encrypt its code in different ways so that it appears differently in each infection. These viruses are more difficult to detect.

Stealth viruses: - These types of viruses use different kind of techniques to avoid detection. They either redirect the disk head to read another sector instead of the one in which they reside or they may alter the reading of the infected file’s size shown in the directory listing. For example, the Whale virus adds 9216 bytes to an infected file; then the virus subtracts the same number of bytes (9216) from the size given in the directory.